---
id:"kb-2026-00499"
title:"Philosophy of Mind"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"arts"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"Consciousness Explained (Daniel Dennett)"
    type:"book"
    year:1991
    url:"https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/daniel-c-dennett/consciousness-explained/9780316180658/"
    institution:"Little, Brown"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Philosophy of mind examines the nature of consciousness, mental states, and the mind-body relationship. Positions: dualism (Descartes: mind and body separate), physicalism (mind = brain), functionalism (mental states = functional roles), panpsychism (consciousness is fundamental). The 'hard problem' (Chalmers): why does physical processing produce subjective experience?

## Core Explanation

Mary's Room thought experiment (Jackson, 1982): Mary knows all physical facts about color but has never seen it — does she learn something new when she first sees red? Chinese Room (Searle, 1980): person following instructions manipulates Chinese symbols — understands nothing. Qualia: subjective qualities of experience (the redness of red). Integrated Information Theory (Tononi): consciousness = integrated information (Φ). 'I think, therefore I am' (Descartes, 1641).

## Further Reading

- [Consciousness Explained (Daniel Dennett)](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/daniel-c-dennett/consciousness-explained/9780316180658/)